Automatically controlled mechanism for applying electric shavers to the face



1959 R. v. MILLER 2,916,819

AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM FOR APPLYING ELECTRIC SHAVERS TO THE FACE Filed March 27. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MMZW 1N VEN TOR.

Dec. 15, 1959 R. v. MILLER 2,916,319

AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM F OR APPLYING ELECTRIC SHAVERS To THE FACE Filed March 27. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I8 22 FIG.7

FIGS

FIG.9

IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED MECHANISM FOREAPPLYING ELECTRIC SHAVERS TO THE FAC Raymond Vernon Miller, New York, N .Y.

Application March 27, )1956, Serial .No. 574,140

3 Claims. (Cl. 3034) This invention relates to structural means providing complete automatically controlled mechanisms for :applying electric shaving devices to the face of the user, so that the user need only guide the assembly over the face in near proximity to the surface of the skin. The automatic controls supply the pre-determined proper pressure against the face, both for theskin contacting portion of the shaver and for the skin tensioner that goes on a head.

Because a skin engaging member, acting as a skin tensioner, is included in this structure "it is now practicable to introduce power-driven motion in a relatively small circle for the skin contacting portion of the shaver. Without an effective skin engaging member acting as a skin tensioner, such as is covered by my previous patent applications, to wit: Serial No. 71,121, now Patent No. 2,726,442, granted December 13, 1955; Serial No. 77,815, now Patent No. 2,726,443, granted December 13, 1955; Serial No. 317,944, now Patent No. "2,749,613, granted June 12, 1956; and Serial No. 170,557, now Patent No. 2,814,104, granted November 26, 1957, it would be useless to provide such power-driven motion, because the loose skin and flesh would not be held steady while engaged by the skin contacting portion while the latter is being moved about on the face but would, instead, move wherever the skin contacting portion moved. Because of the structure employed in this invention the mutual interaction sought between the movingskin contacting portion and the skin itself, is actually attained.

It is well appreciated by those skilled in the art that many prospective users give up trying to use electric shaving devices after repeated unsuccessful attempts to obtain satisfactory results. It is known that many do not acquire the skill of properly employing these devices on their faces. Some users are bothered with skin burns where the pressure has momentarily been too heavy. for the close cutting shearing head. Others "are annoyed because when they use a light, safe stroke it takes too much laborious scrubbing action and too much time to produce a close shave. Often both of these annoyances are present in the samejs'have.

The directions accompanying presently available devices of this character instruct the user to employ a feather touch, a gentle pressure, a zero pressure, .or

i hold it lightly, do not apply pressure, or "use firm enough pressure to dent the skin lightly, while at the same time realizing that an intimately close contact 18 required at all points of the stroke if the shave is to be a close one. It is far easier to giveSuch, directions than it is for the vast majority of users to follow them. In the first place the skin and flesh are very loose on the till face. They move an inch or more back and forth under light pressure, and they bunch up as a device of this kind is moved over the face.

In the second place, the face :has hard zbones closely underlying certain areas, while in other areas coming within the same shaving stroke the flesh is flabby and has 2,916,819 Patented Dec. 15, T1959 "ice no backing underneath it. This condition causes the shaver head to jam in the pockets near the bones unless extreme care is observed. The result is that what starts out to be a light evenly pressured stroke becomes excessively heavy in the pockets near the bones, and loses contact entirely over some of the soft spots. This hecomes especially true when the user attempts to gain a little speed on his strokes.

An important object of this invention is therefore to provide automatic means enabling the user to take fast and long (time saving) strokes that apply the proper shaving pressure far more accurately than he could possibly do without these automatic means no matter how slowl and meticulously he might make the strokes. Speedy strokes become necessary if a quick shave is to be attained, because by the very nature of electric shaving a multiplicity of strokes is needed.

Despite laudatory statements made for devices of .this

character by their manufacturers, it is appreciated by those skilled in the art that every shaver head has to be a-compromise between opposing objectives. No shaver head can have all the desirable characteristics without also possessing some of the undesirable ones. The thinner the outer plate of the shaver and the wider the holes or grooves. the greater is the chance of getting nicked or burned whenever, during a shaving stroke, the pressure exceeds the safe limit. Onthe other hand, it is also well known that as the heads are made safer against skin burn (by having thicker plates and narrower grooves) they require more pressure andmore strokes to get anything approximating a clean shave.

It is accordingly another object of this invention to furnish an assembly that will at all times automatically press the skin contacting portion of the shaver against each 'unit area ofskin with a preselected-degree of pressure throughout everv stro'ke'that'is just right-that can neither exceed or fall below the exact degree of light contact required despite the irregularities .of the face, without the necessity for the user to exercise .any accuracy at all in pressure-gauging or guiding the shaver. All he has to do 'is tov guide the holding member of the assembly over the face within a broad approximation of the exactly correct .path. The path in which he moves the holder has merely to remain between two extreme limits that are readily visible from an indicator on the assembly, and can also be felt by the users fingers holding the assembly. But no matter to what extent he may adjust or vary the regulating means provided, the actual pressure applied will always be within the range called for by the automatic control mechanism. The means for controlling the pressure is integrally 'builtinto the structure of the assembly.

'Still another object of this invention is to provide, in conjunction with this pressure regulator of the shaver head against the face, a skin engaging member acting .as a skin .tensioner according to my prior patent applications above referred to but mounted in a novel manner to cooperate with the mechanism controlling the pressure of the shaver head against the face.

With the above objects satisfied, it is now practicable for the firsttime to automatically and mechanically make each unit area of the skincontacting portion of the shaver rotate, with respect to the part held by the hand of the user, in a relatively small circle, so v,as .to sweep the bristles rapidly and repeatedly from every angle. This latter objective has heretofore been impossible ,to achieve, be-

Heretofore most attention in electric shaving has been focussed on getting a large number of interactions per second between a multitude of individual cutting edges on the inner and outer cutters, while little has been done towards increasing the number of interactions between the bristles themselves and the shearing jaws. Even with the best of electric shavers, experience has proven that the most comfortable and at the same time the quickest, closest and smoothest shave requires a multiplicity of comparatively fast, repeated light passes at each bristle while the otherwise loose skin around the bristle is held immovable on the face.

What we have said about the objects of this invention as applied to electric shavers applies also to massaging devices. Either one of these devices under the automatic control provided by this invention will mildly and safely stimulate the skin, so that repeated use of the apparatus will serve to improve its texture as well as the general firmness of the facial fiesh.

Thus the invention provides a structurally and fumetionally improved assembly that will assure rapid powerdriven interaction between the bristles and the skin contacting portion of the device, under full automatic control by pre-adjusted spring means; and a device requiring from the hand of the user only the roughest guiding in near proximity to the skin, and requiring none of the usual laborious repeated back and forth strokes to attain a quick close shave that is also free from skin burn.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is bad to the attached sheets of drawings illustrating certain embodiments of the invention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the assembly.

Fig. 2 is a plan view. The two springs which are shown in Fig. 1 are omitted from this view for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 3 is a partly sectional view of the skin contacting portion of the head of the shaver with its inner and outer cutters, and a part of the main body of the shaving device, showing how the skin contacting portion of the shaver is pivotally secured to the forward end of a pair of links that are journalled in the main body of the device. This view is taken in a plane bisecting the longitudinal axis of the device. This figure shows one embodiment of structure causing each unit area of the skin contacting portion of the assembly to rotate in a small circle with respect to the holding member held by the hand of the user. 1 v

v Fig. 4 is a view of the underside of the inner cutter of the hair cutting means, taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows as indicated. It shows a slot in the inner cutter that permits the latter to move in a small circle while the reciprocating power-driven rocker arm operating in one plane with respect to the main body of the device reciprocates the inner cutter.

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, with the cranks omitted. This view shows the holes for receiving the forward ends of the two cranks that cause the skin contacting portion of the shaver to perform a rotary motion.

Fig. 6 is a partial plan view of an alternate embodiment of structure for causing each unit area of the skin contacting portion to rotate in a small circle with respect to the holding plate held by the hand of the user.

Fig. 7 is a partly sectional view taken along line 77 of Fig. 6. It shows how the entire body of the shaving device suspended from its pivotally supported hangers is rotated in a small circle by a pair of cranks journalled in the holding plate held by the hand of the user.

Fig. 8 is a section taken along the line 88 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the spring booster mechanism of Fig. 6 for manually increasing the amount of spring pressure with which the shaving device is urged into contact with the face.

In Figures 1 and 2 the numeral 1 indicates a holding member or plate to be held by the hand of the user. This holding plate may form the upper half of a shell surrounding the shaving device, the lower half of such a shell being indicated by the numeral 2. U-shaped frames 3 and 4 are journalled on plate 1 by means of respective clips 5 and 6. The main body of the shaving device is indicated by numeral 9. Threaded nuts 7 and 8 are secured by a suitable adhesive, such as a liquid polymer, to the sides of the body 9 for receiving the threaded ends of respective U-frames 3 and 4 to form pivoted joints as shown. A spring 10 normally urges the body 9 of the device in a direction toward the left end of the assembly, into the position indicated in broken lines at the extreme left of Fig. 1. It will be observed that the frictionless suspension of the body 9 of the shaver from the holding plate 1 by means of the U-shaped frames 3 and 4 which latter are connected to the plate 1 by respective fasteners 5, 6 and to the body 9 by respective nuts 7 and 8, provides an extremely sensitive balance between the pressure of spring 10 tending to pivot the U-shaped frame 4 and to thus move body 9 into its position shown in broken lines on the one hand, and the return pressure exerted by the flesh and skin on the face of the user against the skin contacting portion 35 of body 9 on the other hand. The provision of such delicate balance of pressures is a primary object of this invention.

It will be further observed that the above disclosed articulate connection 3--8 permits a rather substantial range of movement for the body 9 of the shaver with respect to the holding plate. The two extreme positions of the shaver body 9 and skin contacting portion 35 with respect to the holding plate 1 are shown in broken lines in Fig. 1.

Stops 11 and 12 are secured to holding plate 1 and are placed at the ends of a slot 39 in the holding plate. A stem 13 extending through this slot 39 has its enlarged base secured to the upper surface of the body 9 by a suitable adhesive and functions as a visible and also palpable (through the fingers) indicated as to the position of the body 9 within its range of forward and backward movement with respect to the holding plate 1. Stem 13 projects above plate 1 as shown. During proper operation of the assembly when the member 35 slides over the face of the user, the range of movement of stem 13 is between stops 11 and 12. The user gauges his hand pressure on holding plate 1 toward the face (the left in Figures 1 and 2) so that stem 13 is always to the rear (right) of the point where it would contact the stop 11, and so that it is always to the front (left) of the point where it would contact stop 12. Thus, the user does not need to know how much pressure to use; he applies pressure to the holding plate sufiicient to keep stem 13 floating between the two stops 11 and 12. He can either watch stem 13 in the mirror, or he can feel by his fingers when the stem 13 may get too close to either stop. No matter how rapidly he may make the strokes, he can be sure that full contact is attained (at every point of each stroke) over the changing contours of the face, and that at no time can the pressure be greater than the safe pressure for which the assembly is set. Thus, stem 13 constitutes means for limiting movements of dry shaver 9, 35 with respect to holding means 1.

The numeral 15 indicates a rotatable cam frictionally supported on holding plate 1; as it is rotated to different positions the pressure exerted by spring 10 on U-frame 4 is set at different values. A scale may be provided alongside this cam 15 so that any given pressure setting can be exactly duplicated at any future time. For momentarily increasing the pressure of the device against the face beyond the value represented by the setting of cam 15, a booster lever 16 is provided. This lever is pivoted near its mid-point on holding plate 1. When the lever 16 is pressed by a finger of the user the tension of resilient means 10 is further increased beyond that corresponding to the setting of cam 15, thus applying additional pressure by the skin -contacting portion 35 of the body 9 against the face. An adjusting screw 17 limits the amount of booster pressure that will be furnished from lever 16.

A skin engaging member 34 is supported on holding plate 1 by means of U-shaped links 18 and 19 which are journalled in respective brackets 20 and 21 attached to holding plate 1. The respective bent-over extremities 24, 25 of the links 18, 19 movably support parallel members 22 and 23 (on opposite sides of body 9). The U-shaped links 18, 19 may be threaded into the brackets 20 and 21, respectively and their extremities 24, 25, respectively, may be provided with external threads to fit into threaded bores in the parallel members 22 and 23. A resilient element 30 normally urges link 18 and the skin engaging member 34 in a direction to the left in Figures 1 and 2. The pressure with which the skin engaging member 34 is urged toward the face of the user is governed by the setting of a rotatable cam 31 which is frictionally supported on holding plate 1. It will be observed that the articulate connection consisting of elements 18-28 between holding means 1 and member 34, which also permits movements of the skin engaging member 34 with respect to the shaver is an improvement over that covered in my previous patent applications above referred to. With the structure herein provided it is practicable for the first time that the user of the device maintain a relatively heavy pressure of the skin engagingmemher which acts as a skin tensioner against the face while at the same time maintaining a pressure approaching zero by the skin contacting portion of the shaver against the face, and at the same time make rapid strokes. A crosspiece 26 acts as a structural tie between the two parallel members 22 and 23. The skin engaging member 34 forms part of a skin tensioner similar to those shown in my previous patent applications above referred to. Yokes 27 are pivotally connected with parallel members 22, 23 by means of an axle 28, the axle being rigidly secured to the yokes 27. Skin engaging member 34 is journalled in the front ends of yokes 27, adjacent to the skin contacting portion 35 carried by the body 9 of the shaver. Skin engaging member 34 has a ratchet wheel 36 secured to one of its ends, the said wheel 36 engaging a pawl 37 on the upstroke of the assembly, thus preventing skin engaging member 34 from turning. On the downstroke, one of yokes 27 bears against a stop 38, allowing skin engaging member 34 to rotate freely. Thus it will be observed that the skin engaging member 34 operates as a skin tensioner only when it is in advance of the skin contacting portion 35 of the shaver, and that it merely idles when it is to the rear of the shaver head 35.

Figs. 3, 4 and show an embodiment of structure for providing power-driven motion, within a relatively small circle, for the skin contacting portion 35 of the shaver with respect to the holding plate 1 held by the hand of the user. Shaft 40 is rotated by power from a source either immediately adjacent thereto or from a more re mote source, .and is journalled in a cross plate 44 forming part of the main body 9 of the device and in a bearingsupport 45. Gears 46 and 47 are identical and are caused to rotate .in the same direction and at the same speed because they mesh with a gear 43 which is secured to and driven by shaft40. Gears 46 and 47 are mounted on respectivecranks 50, 51 which latter are journalled in the cross plate 44 and also in the respective bearing supports 48 and 49. The forward ends of the cranks 50 and 51 (left hand ends, in Figure 3) are journalled in the holes 93 and 54 in a cross plate 52 forming part of the separate skin contacting portion 35 of the device, as shown. Spring 87 bears against rocker arm 86 and inner cutter 85, the latter having a hole 14 for the passage of the forward end of rocker arm 86 therethrough. The parts marked 53 are thrust washers to prevent the, cranks and their supporting shafts from shifting longitudinally.

Hole 88 in plate 52 provides clearance for rocker arm 86. It will thus be observed that the rotation of the shaft 40 from the power source causes each unit area of the shaver head or skin contacting portion 35 to rotate in dependency on the motion of the cranks 50 .and 51. The rotary motion imparted to skin contacting portion 35 of the dry shaver body 9 by cranks 50, .51 is in a plane substantially perpendicular to the direction in body 9 is urged by resilient means 10 with respect to holding means 1. It is contemplated that the number of revolutions per minute of the cranks may be less than or approximating one thousand. This is, of course, much slower than the speed of reciprocation of the inner cutter 85 with respect to 'the outer cutter orskin contacting portion 35.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, rotary motion of each unit area of the skin contacting portion of the shaver with respect to the holding plate held by the hand of the user is obtained in a slightly different manner. In this case shafts 55 and 56 are journalled on the holding plate 57 which, in this embodiment, is .in the form of a rectangular frame, at the bearing polnts 58, 59 (shaft 55) and 60 and 61 (shaft 56). The pairs of cranks 62 and 63 of respective shafts 55, 56 are journalled on moving plate 64 at bearing points 65, 66 (cran'ks 62) and 67 and 68 .(cranks 63). {In this embodiment, the 'U-frame hangers 69 and 70 supporting the body '9 of the device, are pivotally attached to movable plate 64 by passing through respective bores 71, 72 and 73, 74 in the latter. The portions of U-frames 69,, 70 may be externally threaded so as to mesh with internal threads in .the 'bores 71, 72 and 73, 74, respectively, in the moving plate 64. Rotary motion from an adjacent or a remote source of power, .in the latter case through a flexible shaft, is imparted to shaft 75 through -a suitable coupling 76. Center gear 77 is mounted-on shaft .75, the latter being journalled in the holding plate 57 at bearing points 78 and 79. Identical side gears 80 and '81 are secured .to the rear (right-hand) ends of shafts 55 and '56, respectively. These side gears are driven in the same direction and :at the same speed, 'by the rotation of gear 77 attached to power driven shaft 75. In this embodi- :ment, the skin engaging member .34 (not shown) is attached to theholdingplate 57 in'the same'manner .as it is attached to the holding plate 1 in Figs. 1 and :2. Fig. 9 is a detail view "in .side elevation of the lever 82 for boosting the pressure of spring .83 by a finger of the user. The lever .82 'is pivotally supported on stationary holding plate 57. When the power-driven'means rotates the movable plate 64 within the circumference .of a relatively small circle, one end vof spring 83 (corresponding to spring 10 in Fig. l) is of :course also moved in this same small circle. The eye 84, forming part of lever 82, allows this abutting end of spring 83 to slide back and forth for the small distance involved, and the flexibility of the spring itself allows the end of the spring .to bend slightly back and forth to compensate for this small degree of relative movement. In this embodiment, the cam '15 ispivotally supported on moving plate 64.

It will be observed that these embodiments disclose a further new and useful improvement in providing means causing relative movement of the skin contacting portion of the shaver head in a relatively small circle, while at the same time also providing additional structure for holding the otherwise loose and flabby skin and flesh steady, hard and taut against the rotating shaver head, so that even the small amount of movement of the skin contacting portion with respect to the holding plate is effectively translated into actual relative movement between each unit area of the skin contacting portion and the bristles on the face of the user.

This power-driven relative movement is nullified and rendered useless unless a skin engaging member is functioning to tension the skin because, when such a skin engaging member is absent or is not functioning, the

which the skin and fiesh will simply rotate with the skin contacting portion of the shaver. There will be no relative movement because the circle is too small. However, from a practical standpoint, unless the circle is very small, power drive is impossiblefor obvious reasons. By the very nature of the process of using a shaver on the human face, no mechanical movement in a circle can be tolerated unless its radius is almost imperceptable in size.

A radius of only one-sixteenth of an inch will overlap several of the grooves or holes in the skin contacting plate in any standard shaver, and power-driven movement of the shaver head in such a circle will provide an enormous area of sweeping action every second to produce unprecedented improvement in pick-up and covering power. Since it is the relative sweeping action of the shaving head that governs the effectiveness of the pick-up of an electric shaver, this objective is attained in accordance with this invention by the means provided to actually produce this relative movement.

The actual accomplishment of this power-driven movement of the skin contacting portion of the shaver in a very small circle, in relation to the position of the bristles on the face being shaved, therefore opens up a new era in speedy and safe electric shaving.

Operation In operating the assembly for the purpose of shaving the face, the user need merely guide the skin contacting portion 35 of the shaver over the face in near proximity to the surface of the skin. The assembly automatically provides the answer to the ever-present question as to how much pressure to apply against the skin, and as to how to control that pressure on fast strokes when the shaver head hits the bumps. The user can see the indicator stem 13, and he can both see and feel with his fingers the stops 11 and 12. Whenever the indicator approaches stop 11 or stop 12, the user can readily perceive that condition and can easily keep the indicator 13 floating" between the two stops. That is about all the user has'to do, aside from guiding the assembly in long easy strokes over the entire face. Thus the assembly enables any user to take long fast strokes and to apply an exceedingly light pressure at all points-over the bones and soft spots alikesomething that is impossible to do manually, as many men have discovered. Suitable guard pieces prevent interference by hand of user.

The member 34 automatically tensions the skin just ahead of the moving skin contacting portion 35 of the shaver. It does this with a mild uniform pressure that can never jam or exceed the pro-determined safe pressure. The novel structure that allows the skin engaging member to function as an effective skin tensioner supplies the only practical answer yet found for getting at the bases of the bristles, namely, opening up the furrows of skin in which many of the hard-to-get-at bristles grow.

The two pressures against the face (by the portion 35 of the shaver 9 and by the skin engaging member 34, respectively) are completely independent of each other. Either one can be substantial in amount while the other approaches zero. Both pressures are pre-determined and the means for conveying such pressures to the skin may be built into the assembly within optimum ranges to give the best results. Both pressures can be adjusted by the user within reasonable limits of the mean value built into the respective springs.

When the above described automatic pressure controls are used in conjunction with the electric shaver unexpected new results are immediately apparent. The user does not have to acquire the knack of properly applying the shaver to his face. And those who do know are .completely relieved of the laborious task of making innumerable repeated passes over the skin. They are relieved of the necessity to be very accurate with the sharp-cutting shaver. And they can take long strokes that are much faster and safer than they could ever use before the advent of this assembly. This applies also to expert barbers, many of whom dislike using an electric shaver on a customer because they have no safe way to gauge the pressure.

It is obvious that various designs for manufacturing actual specimens of this assembly may modify the detailed features and spacing arrangements considerably, without departing from the spirit of this invention. It will be apparent that within the purview of the appended claims various types of mechanism may be devised.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination: holding means adapted to be held in the hand of a user; a dry shaver at least partially received in and having a beard-cutting skin contacting portion extending from said holding means; an articulate connection between said dry shaver and said holding means including arms pivotally connected to the dry shaver; and resilient means having one end bearing against said holding means and an opposite end bearing against an element connected to the dry shaver for constantly urging the dry shaver in a direction to move the skin contacting portion thereof away from said holding means.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, further comprising skin tensioning means articulately connected with said holding means and adjacent to said skin contacting portion of the shaver, and second resilient means having one end bearing against said holding means and another end bearing against a part of said skin tensioning means for constantly urging the latter in a direction substantially parallel with said first mentioned direction.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, further comprising means for rotating said skin contacting portion of the shaver in a plane substantially perpendicular to said first mentioned direction and with respect to said holding means, said rotating means including a shaft journalled in the body of said shaver, a power driven gearing in the body of said shaver operativcly connected with said shaft, and a crank on said shaft journalled in the skin contacting portion of said shaver.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,119,248 Segal May 31, 1938 2,256,076 Coles Sept. 16, 1941 2,261,737 Hirv Nov. 4, 1941 2,402,233 Beatty June 18, 1946 2,711,582 Scully June 28, 1955 2,726,442 Miller Dec. 13, 1955 2,726,443 Miller Dec. 13, 1955 2,749,613 Miller June 12, 1956 2,814,104 Miller Nov. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 372,899 Italy July 13, 1939 523,492 Great Britain July 16, 1940 

